GAME THREAD: GAME THREAD: NHL: MONTREAL (14-16) at PHILADELPHIA (16-12)

NHL: MONTREAL at PHILADELPHIA

<div class="pre">NHL MONTREAL 4
PHILADELPHIA 0
2ND PRD: MON - MARK STREIT 4 (TOM KOSTOPOULOS, MAXIM LAPIERRE) 9:58</div>

 

NHL: MONTREAL at PHILADELPHIA

<div class="pre">NHL MONTREAL 4
PHILADELPHIA 0 8:00 LEFT, 2ND PRD</div>

 

NHL: MONTREAL at PHILADELPHIA

<div class="pre">NHL MONTREAL 4
PHILADELPHIA 1
2ND PRD: PHI - (PP) MIKE KNUBLE 10 (MIKE RICHARDS, DANIEL BRIERE)
15:52</div>

 

NHL: MONTREAL at PHILADELPHIA

<div class="pre">NHL MONTREAL 4
PHILADELPHIA 1 1:10 LEFT, 2ND PRD</div>

 

NHL: MONTREAL at PHILADELPHIA

<div class="pre">NHL END OF THE 2ND 1ST 2ND 3RD TOTAL
--- --- --- -----
MONTREAL 1 3 4
PHILADELPHIA 0 1 1 END OF THE 2ND

GOAL SCORING:

1ST PRD: MON - (PP) CHRIS HIGGINS 13 (ANDREI MARKOV, SAKU KOIVU) 8:17
2ND PRD: MON - ANDREI KOSTITSYN 5 (TOMAS PLEKANEC) 0:21
MON - (PP) MARK STREIT 3 (ALEXEI KOVALEV, TOMAS PLEKANEC)
5:01
MON - MARK STREIT 4 (TOM KOSTOPOULOS, MAXIM LAPIERRE) 9:58
PHI - (PP) MIKE KNUBLE 10 (MIKE RICHARDS, DANIEL BRIERE)
15:52

SHOTS ON GOAL: 1ST 2ND 3RD TOTAL
--- --- --- -----
MON 7 9 16
PHI 10 11 21

GOALIES: MON - CAREY PRICE
PHI - ANTERO NIITTYMAKI</div>

 

NHL: MONTREAL at PHILADELPHIA

<div class="pre">------------------------------
Montreal 1 3 --4
Philadelphia 0 1 --1
------------------------------

FIRST PERIOD -- Scoring: 1, Montreal, Chris Higgins 13 (power play)
(Andrei Markov, Saku Koivu), 8:17. Penalties: S Hartnell, Phi
(slashing), 6:39; R Potulny, Phi (holding stick), 17:50.

SECOND PERIOD -- Scoring: 2, Montreal, Andrei Kostitsyn 5 (Tomas
Plekanec), 0:21. 3, Montreal, Mark Streit 3 (power play) (Alexei
Kovalev, Tomas Plekanec), 5:01. 4, Montreal, Mark Streit 4 (Tom
Kostopoulos, Maxim Lapierre), 9:58. 5, Philadelphia, Mike Knuble 10
(power play) (Mike Richards, Daniel Briere), 15:52. Penalties: M
Knuble, Phi (holding), 0:54; M Richards, Phi (hooking), 3:28; R
O'Byrne, Mon (hooking), 15:09; K Chipchura, Mon (double minor high
sticking), 16:51.

Shots on goal:
----------------------------------
Montreal 7 9 --16
Philadelphia 10 11 --21
----------------------------------

Goalies : Montreal, Carey Price (21 shots, 20 saves). Philadelphia,
Antero Niittymaki (16 shots, 12 saves). Referees: Dan O'Rourke, Ian
Walsh. Linesmen: Derek Amell, Lyle Seitz.</div>

 

NHL: MONTREAL at PHILADELPHIA

<div class="pre">NHL MONTREAL 4
PHILADELPHIA 1 19:55 LEFT, 3RD PRD</div>

 

NHL: MONTREAL at PHILADELPHIA

<div class="pre">NHL MONTREAL 4
PHILADELPHIA 1 16:00 LEFT, 3RD PRD</div>

 

NHL: MONTREAL at PHILADELPHIA

<div class="pre">NHL MONTREAL 4
PHILADELPHIA 1 12:00 LEFT, 3RD PRD</div>

 

NHL: MONTREAL at PHILADELPHIA

<div class="pre">NHL MONTREAL 4
PHILADELPHIA 1 8:05 LEFT, 3RD PRD</div>

 

NHL: MONTREAL at PHILADELPHIA

<div class="pre">NHL MONTREAL 4
PHILADELPHIA 1 4:00 LEFT, 3RD PRD</div>

 

NHL: MONTREAL at PHILADELPHIA

<div class="pre">NHL MONTREAL 4
PHILADELPHIA 1 1:00 LEFT, 3RD PRD</div>

 

NHL: MONTREAL at PHILADELPHIA

<div class="pre">NHL FINAL 1ST 2ND 3RD TOTAL
--- --- --- -----
MONTREAL 1 3 0 4
PHILADELPHIA 0 1 0 1 FINAL

GOAL SCORING:

1ST PRD: MON - (PP) CHRIS HIGGINS 13 (ANDREI MARKOV, SAKU KOIVU) 8:17
2ND PRD: MON - ANDREI KOSTITSYN 5 (TOMAS PLEKANEC) 0:21
MON - (PP) MARK STREIT 3 (ALEXEI KOVALEV, TOMAS PLEKANEC)
5:01
MON - MARK STREIT 4 (TOM KOSTOPOULOS, MAXIM LAPIERRE) 9:58
PHI - (PP) MIKE KNUBLE 10 (MIKE RICHARDS, DANIEL BRIERE)
15:52
3RD PRD: NONE

POWER-PLAY CONVERSIONS: MON - 2 OF 6, PHI - 1 OF 6.

SHOTS ON GOAL: 1ST 2ND 3RD TOTAL
--- --- --- -----
MON 7 9 7 23
PHI 10 11 9 30

GOALIES: MON - CAREY PRICE
PHI - ANTERO NIITTYMAKI

OFFICIALS: REF - DAN O'ROURKE, IAN WALSH
LIN - DEREK AMELL, LYLE SEITZ

ATT: 19,322</div>

 

NHL: MONTREAL at PHILADELPHIA

<div class="pre">------------------------------------
Montreal 1 3 0 --4
Philadelphia 0 1 0 --1
------------------------------------

FIRST PERIOD -- Scoring: 1, Montreal, Chris Higgins 13 (power play)
(Andrei Markov, Saku Koivu), 8:17. Penalties: S Hartnell, Phi
(slashing), 6:39; R Potulny, Phi (holding stick), 17:50.

SECOND PERIOD -- Scoring: 2, Montreal, Andrei Kostitsyn 5 (Tomas
Plekanec), 0:21. 3, Montreal, Mark Streit 3 (power play) (Alexei
Kovalev, Tomas Plekanec), 5:01. 4, Montreal, Mark Streit 4 (Tom
Kostopoulos, Maxim Lapierre), 9:58. 5, Philadelphia, Mike Knuble 10
(power play) (Mike Richards, Daniel Briere), 15:52. Penalties: M
Knuble, Phi (holding), 0:54; M Richards, Phi (hooking), 3:28; R
O'Byrne, Mon (hooking), 15:09; K Chipchura, Mon (double minor high
sticking), 16:51.

THIRD PERIOD -- Scoring: None. Penalties: R O'Byrne, Mon (holding), 2:38; J Lupul,
Phi (holding), 3:28; B Coburn, Phi (hooking), 8:21; C Higgins, Mon
(hooking), 11:32.

Shots on goal:
---------------------------------------
Montreal 7 9 7 --23
Philadelphia 10 11 9 --30
---------------------------------------

Power-play Conversions: Montreal - 2 of 6, Philadelphia - 1 of 6.
Goalies : Montreal, Carey Price (30 shots, 29 saves; record: 8-5-2).
Philadelphia, Antero Niittymaki (23 shots, 19 saves; record: 3-3-0).
A: 19,322. Referees: Dan O'Rourke, Ian Walsh. Linesmen: Derek Amell,
Lyle Seitz.</div>

 

PHILADELPHIA (Ticker) -- Defenseman Mark Streit's offensiveability helped the Montreal Canadiens halted a two-game skid.

Streit scored a pair of goals and Tomas Plekanec added twoassists as the Canadiens skated to a 4-1 victory over thePhiladelphia Flyers on Thursday.


Christopher Higgins and Andrei Kostitsyn also tallied forMontreal, which extended its winning streak over Philadelphia tofour games.


Higgins began the outburst for the Canadiens, netting apower-play goal at 8:17 of the first period for a 1-0 lead.

From the right faceoff circle, captain Saku Koivu fed defensemanAndrei Markov, who completed a cross-crease pass from the leftside. Higgins had no trouble burying the puck for his 13thtally of the season.


Kostitsyn doubled Montreal's advantage just 21 seconds into themiddle session, streaking down the slot and backhandingPlekanec's pass from the left wing boards past goaltender AnteroNiittymaki for his fifth goal.


Streit got into the act during a power play at 5:01 with thefirst of his two tallies. Standing on the doorstep, Streitconverted Alexei Kovalev's feed from below the end line on theright side for his third of the campaign and a 3-0 bulge.

With the tally, Streit halted a 21-game drought. He last scoredon October 26 at Carolina.


Less than five minutes later, Streit pinched in from the leftpoint and knocked Tom Kostopoulos' cross-slot feed by Niittymakiat 9:58 for a four-goal cushion. It capped the first careermulti-goal performance by the Swiss blue-liner.


Philadelphia got on the board with 4:08 remaining in the second.During a man advantage, Daniel Briere dished to Mike Richards,who signed a 12-year contract extension earlier in the day.

Richards attempted a pass to Mike Knuble, who was standing onthe doorstep. But the puck caromed off the heel of Knuble'sleft skate and past rookie netminder Carey Price, drawing theFlyers within 4-1.


Price finished with 30 saves, while Niittymaki turned aside 19shots.

 

PHILADELPHIA (Ticker) -- Defenseman Mark Streit's offensiveability helped the Montreal Canadiens halt a two-game skid.

Streit scored a pair of goals and Tomas Plekanec added twoassists as the Canadiens skated to a 4-1 victory over thePhiladelphia Flyers on Thursday.


Christopher Higgins and Andrei Kostitsyn also tallied forMontreal, which extended its winning streak over Philadelphia tofour games.


Higgins began the outburst for the Canadiens, netting apower-play goal at 8:17 of the first period for a 1-0 lead.

From the right faceoff circle, captain Saku Koivu fed defensemanAndrei Markov, who completed a cross-crease pass from the leftside. Higgins had no trouble burying the puck for his 13thtally of the season.


Kostitsyn doubled Montreal's advantage just 21 seconds into themiddle session, streaking down the slot and backhandingPlekanec's pass from the left wing boards past goaltender AnteroNiittymaki for his fifth goal.


Streit got into the act during a power play at 5:01 with thefirst of his two tallies. Standing on the doorstep, Streitconverted Alexei Kovalev's feed from below the end line on theright side for his third of the campaign and a 3-0 bulge.

With the tally, Streit halted a 21-game drought. He last scoredon October 26 at Carolina.


Less than five minutes later, Streit pinched in from the leftpoint and knocked Tom Kostopoulos' cross-slot feed by Niittymakiat 9:58 for a four-goal cushion. It capped the first careermulti-goal performance by the Swiss blue-liner.


Philadelphia got on the board with 4:08 remaining in the second.During a man advantage, Daniel Briere dished to Mike Richards,who signed a 12-year contract extension earlier in the day.

Richards attempted a pass to Mike Knuble, who was standing onthe doorstep. But the puck caromed off the heel of Knuble'sleft skate and past rookie netminder Carey Price, drawing theFlyers within 4-1.


Price finished with 30 saves, while Niittymaki turned aside 19shots.

 

NHL: MONTREAL at PHILADELPHIA

<div class="pre">------------------------------------
Montreal 1 3 0 --4
Philadelphia 0 1 0 --1
------------------------------------

FIRST PERIOD -- Scoring: 1, Montreal, Chris Higgins 13 (power play)
(Andrei Markov, Saku Koivu), 8:17. Penalties: S Hartnell, Phi
(slashing), 6:39; R Potulny, Phi (holding stick), 17:50.

SECOND PERIOD -- Scoring: 2, Montreal, Andrei Kostitsyn 5 (Tomas
Plekanec), 0:21. 3, Montreal, Mark Streit 3 (power play) (Alexei
Kovalev, Tomas Plekanec), 5:01. 4, Montreal, Mark Streit 4 (Tom
Kostopoulos, Maxim Lapierre), 9:58. 5, Philadelphia, Mike Knuble 10
(power play) (Mike Richards, Daniel Briere), 15:52. Penalties: M
Knuble, Phi (holding), 0:54; M Richards, Phi (hooking), 3:28; R
O'Byrne, Mon (hooking), 15:09; K Chipchura, Mon (double minor high
sticking), 16:51; R Hamrlik, Mon (roughing), 18:50.

THIRD PERIOD -- Scoring: None. Penalties: R O'Byrne, Mon (holding), 2:38; J Lupul,
Phi (holding), 3:28; M Richards, Phi (hooking), 3:28; B Coburn, Phi
(hooking), 8:24; C Higgins, Mon (hooking), 11:32.

Shots on goal:
---------------------------------------
Montreal 7 9 7 --23
Philadelphia 9 12 10 --31
---------------------------------------

Power-play Conversions: Montreal - 2 of 6, Philadelphia - 1 of 6.
Goalies : Montreal, Carey Price (31 shots, 30 saves; record: 8-5-2).
Philadelphia, Antero Niittymaki (23 shots, 19 saves; record: 3-3-0).
A: 19,322. Referees: Dan O'Rourke, Ian Walsh. Linesmen: Derek Amell,
Lyle Seitz.</div>

 

NHL: MONTREAL at PHILADELPHIA

<div class="pre">-----------------------------------------
MONTREAL 1 3 0 --4
PHILADELPHIA 0 1 0 --1
-----------------------------------------

FIRST PERIOD -- Scoring: 1, Montreal, Chris Higgins 13 (power play)
(Andrei Markov, Saku Koivu), 8:17. Penalties: S Hartnell, Phi
(slashing), 6:39; R Potulny, Phi (holding stick), 17:50.

SECOND PERIOD -- Scoring: 2, Montreal, Andrei Kostitsyn 5 (Tomas
Plekanec), 0:21. 3, Montreal, Mark Streit 3 (power play) (Alexei
Kovalev, Tomas Plekanec), 5:01. 4, Montreal, Mark Streit 4 (Tom
Kostopoulos, Maxim Lapierre), 9:58. 5, Philadelphia, Mike Knuble 10
(power play) (Mike Richards, Daniel Briere), 15:52. Penalties: M
Knuble, Phi (holding), 0:54; M Richards, Phi (hooking), 3:28; R
O'Byrne, Mon (hooking), 15:09; K Chipchura, Mon (double minor high
sticking), 16:51; R Hamrlik, Mon (roughing), 18:50.

THIRD PERIOD -- Scoring: None. Penalties: R O'Byrne, Mon (holding), 2:38; J Lupul,
Phi (holding), 3:28; M Richards, Phi (hooking), 3:28; B Coburn, Phi
(hooking), 8:24; C Higgins, Mon (hooking), 11:32.

Shots on goal:
----------------------------------------
MONTREAL 7 9 7 --23
PHILADELPHIA 9 12 10 --31
----------------------------------------

Power-play Conversions: MON - 2 of 6, PHI - 1 of 6. Goalies :
Montreal, Carey Price (31 shots, 30 saves; record: 8-5-2).
Philadelphia, Antero Niittymaki (23 shots, 19 saves; record: 3-3-0).
A: 19,322. Referees: Dan O'Rourke, Ian Walsh. Linesmen: Derek Amell,
Lyle Seitz.

INDIVIDUAL PLAYER STATISTICS

MONTREAL PHILADELPHIA
G A +/- Shots G A +/- Shots
S Koivu 0 1 even 2 R Potulny 0 0 even 1
T Plekanec 0 2 +1 0 J Lupul 0 0 -1 1
R O'Byrne 0 0 even 0 J Carter 0 0 -1 3
C Higgins 1 0 even 4 M Richards 0 1 -1 3
M Dandenault 0 0 even 0 S Hartnell 0 0 even 3
J Gorges 0 0 even 0 R Umberger 0 0 -1 4
M Lapierre 0 1 +1 0 J Smith 0 0 even 1
A Kovalev 0 1 +1 2 M Knuble 1 0 even 5
K Chipchura 0 0 even 1 S Kapanen 0 0 even 0
M Streit 2 0 +1 3 L Kukkonen 0 0 even 1
R Hamrlik 0 0 even 3 R Cote 0 0 even 0
A Kostitsyn 1 0 +1 4 K Timonen 0 0 -1 0
F Bouillon 0 0 even 1 D Briere 0 1 even 4
T Kostopoulos 0 1 +1 1 B Coburn 0 0 even 1
S Kastsitsyn 0 0 even 0 D Tolpeko 0 0 -1 1
A Markov 0 1 +2 1 R Jones 0 0 -2 0
M Komisarek 0 0 +2 1 R Fitzpatrick 0 0 -1 2
G Latendresse 0 0 even 0 S Upshall 0 0 -1 1
P Brisebois SHOULDER D Hatcher KNEE INJURY
S Begin SHOULDER J Dowd HEALTHY
M Ryder HEALTHY B Eager HEALTHY</div>

 

NHL: MONTREAL at PHILADELPHIA

<div class="pre">** CONFIRMED **
NHL
MONTREAL 4
PHILADELPHIA 1</div>

 

PHILADELPHIA (Ticker) -- Defenseman Mark Streit's offensiveability helped the Montreal Canadiens halt a two-game skid.

Streit scored a pair of goals and Tomas Plekanec added twoassists as the Canadiens skated to a 4-1 victory over thePhiladelphia Flyers on Thursday.


Christopher Higgins and Andrei Kostitsyn also tallied forMontreal, which extended its winning streak over Philadelphia tofour games.


"We always seem to play them well," Higgins said. "Like withBoston, we seem to play our best against those teams. I kind ofwish that we played them even more in the season."

Higgins began the outburst for the Canadiens, netting apower-play goal at 8:17 of the first period for a 1-0 lead.

From the right faceoff circle, captain Saku Koivu fed defensemanAndrei Markov, who completed a cross-crease pass from the leftside. Higgins had no trouble burying the puck for his 13thtally of the season.


"We wanted to get the lead from the start," Higgins said. "Iwas able to get the first goal and get the team's confidence upa little bit. We moved the puck well and we realized that it'snot a difficult game when we do things the right way."

"The first power-play goal stung us a bit," Philadelphia coachJohn Stevens said. "They made a great play and almost made itlook too easy."


Kostitsyn doubled Montreal's advantage just 21 seconds into themiddle session, streaking down the slot and backhandingPlekanec's pass from the left wing boards past goaltender AnteroNiittymaki for his fifth goal.


Streit got into the act during a power play at 5:01 with thefirst of his two tallies. Standing on the doorstep, Streitconverted Alexei Kovalev's feed from below the end line on theright side for his third of the campaign and a 3-0 bulge.

With the tally, Streit halted a 21-game drought. He last scoredon October 26 at Carolina.


"I found a way to score," Streit said. "I've been in a slumpwhere maybe I didn't shoot as much as I wanted to. Tonight, Iscored twice, and it's a great feeling. This is very good formy confidence."


Less than five minutes later, Streit pinched in from the leftpoint and knocked Tom Kostopoulos' cross-slot feed by Niittymakiat 9:58 for a four-goal cushion. It capped the first careermulti-goal performance by the Swiss blue-liner.


"We wanted to keep it simple," Streit said. "We wanted to getthe pucks to the net and hopefully get a bounce. The work wedid in practice paid off for us tonight. The pucks werebouncing for us."


"He's been playing pretty well for us," Canadiens coach GuyCarbonneau said. "I know it's not easy for him to score goalsbecause he goes from defense to forward a lot of times. He's aguy that really works hard in practice, and he deserved thosetwo goals."


Philadelphia got on the board with 4:08 remaining in the second.During a man advantage, Daniel Briere dished to Mike Richards,who signed a 12-year contract extension earlier in the day.

Richards attempted a pass to Mike Knuble, who was standing onthe doorstep. But the puck caromed off the heel of Knuble'sleft skate and past rookie netminder Carey Price, drawing theFlyers within 4-1.


Price finished with 30 saves, while Niittymaki turned aside 19shots.


"It was a tough game," Niittymaki said. "I didn't face too manystraight shots and it was tough to get into the game. You wantto stop one or two of those and keep the game tight and givethe team a chance to win."


Knuble echoed Niittymaki's sentiments about the pace of thecontest.


"Montreal kind of put us to sleep and it was tough to getgoing," he said. "It was tough to match the intensity of theother game (vs. Pittsburgh on Tuesday). They played well andthey blocked a lot of shots. They deserve to win tonight."

Unwilling to take the credit, Price praised his defense for itsstrong effort.


"We had guys jumping in front of shots," he said. "It shows alot of character when you're willing to be able to jump in frontof shots when you have a 4-1 lead."


Briere thought Niittymaki played well despite the outcome.

"You can't blame him," Briere said. "All the plays wereback-door plays, or they were right in the crease. We have todo a better job of clearing the net and picking up players. Wecan't blame him for what happened tonight, it was our fault."